Tag: trip

TRAVEL BLOG: Cape Cod, MA

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Happy Monday!

I am SO excited for this week’s post – I am finally back to travel content! As much as I’ve loved being creative in other areas over the past few months, I’m glad to be able to write about traveling once again for a change. I will still be exploring different health and fitness related posts in the future, but it’s nice to switch back and forth at the moment.

This past weekend, I was able to spend a few days in Wellfleet on Cape Cod. Friday was my birthday, so a few of my friends and I rented a house by Lecount Hollow Beach from Thursday to Sunday. I’ve grown up visiting Wellfleet each summer since I was born, so I knew I wanted to spend my birthday weekend there once again. This was especially exciting because of the circumstances over the last few months. I haven’t been able to see lots of these friends because of social distancing, so now that things are finally starting to open up and we’ve all be quarantining in our respective towns, we were able to get together once again.

On Thursday we drove down later in the afternoon, so while we didn’t get a full vacation day in, it was nice to relax and enjoy a sunset dinner on the beach once we arrived. It was also nice to start off the weekend on a quieter note, before the big birthday celebrations began.

On Friday, my actual birthday, I was able to get a full beach day in at Lecount Hollow, and my mom stopped by for a bit as well. My favorite thing about Wellfleet, and the main reason I wanted to spend my birthday here, is the Beachcomber restaurant – and lucky for me, the first day they opened their outdoor seating was Friday. I had such a great lunch here with my mom and a few friends before heading back to the beach, and getting ready for the rest of my friends to arrive that night.

Later in the afternoon, my dad and my brother joined us as well, and shortly after the rest of my friends. We had such a great time hanging out and eating back at the house and on our deck, and then had our big celebration into the night!

Saturday was our last full day of vacation, and more visitors were able to join us! We spent this day at Cahoon Hollow Beach instead, where the Beachcomber is located, and met up with my aunt and uncle as well. Of course I had to have a second lunch at the Beachcomber on Saturday too, and this was nice to be able to bring all of my friends there who couldn’t join the first time. Once again, after our beach day was over we headed back to the house, enjoyed a cook out dinner outside, and enjoyed the beach for the rest of the night.

Sunday morning was checkout, and since it was also Father’s Day, most of us had to head out pretty early to get home. That being said, it was the perfect number of days for us to get away for a weekend, get beautiful beach weather, and see friends and family who I haven’t been able to recently. I wish we had more time, it always seems to go by so fast, but I know we’ll have lots more beach days and weekends in the near future 🙂

Of course we all were careful before and while traveling and took the necessary and responsible precautions when going into public places! Being able to eat out at a restaurant was such an exciting concept, though, and I simply could not wait any longer. As repetitive as the days seem, there really is not much to talk about a beach vacation – we spent every day eating, relaxing, and eating some more! I did want to include this weekend in today’s post, though, because this did start as a travel blog, and this was the first trip I’ve been able to take since my trip to Florida in March!

Now that I’m home and catching up on this productive Monday, I’m thinking about how lucky I am to have had this past weekend with friends and family, and I’m realizing that what is truly important in life is quality time with those people around you – not any material good or experience. Especially during quarantine, I’ve learned to value these memories so much more, and I’m excited for what’s to come as we bounce back from this unfortunate time and begin enjoying moments together again. I’m very much looking forward to the next few months of summer ahead, and I’m feeling optimistic about the future situation in Massachusetts. I will likely be returning to some health and fitness posts in the coming weeks, but stay tuned for more adventures to come (likely back to the beach)!

Thank you all for sticking with me through the non-travel times, and I will see you all next week!

xx,

Megan

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“Travel” Blog: Beach Day in MA

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Good morning and happy Monday!

I’m excited for this week’s post, as I’ve actually been able to travel a bit in the past week! While still social distancing in Massachusetts, I finally took advantage of the hot weather and spent last Wednesday at the beach. My friend and I drove down to Marshfield for the day, and I’m definitely going to start making this a weekly thing throughout the summer.

In past summers, I’ve regularly taken day trips to the beach, but it’s always been more difficult since I also would have been working regularly, and friends work regularly, so keeping that and the weather in mind, it wasn’t too often we could just pick up and head to the beach when it was warm out. Now that most of us have fairly open schedules, it’s much easier, and also much more enjoyable since we’ve been spending so much time at home.

The day that we went was almost 90ºF, so the ocean was much needed to cool down. While the beach was more crowded than usual, I do have to say people were doing a good job of social distancing and keeping within their respective groups, away from others. We were on a more private part of Rexhame Beach, so I’m sure the public areas were more crowded, but I was expecting the conditions to be much worse, so I was pleasantly surprised to see people being so careful. This makes me more comfortable going back in upcoming weeks!

I also realized how calming and good for the mind it can be to just step outside your usual environment, since that’s so rare nowadays. I’ve always loved the beach, but this trip was definitely special since I can now appreciate the notion of going to the beach so much more. Not only does it separate me from the place I’ve been spending the entire past three months, but it makes me realize how lucky I am to live so close to so much nature, and I’m aware of how much happier I am by getting out there and just enjoying time in a different place.

Of course not everyone is a beach person, but wherever you are and whatever interests you in nature, I strongly encourage you to start taking advantage of that (while staying safe!). If you’ve already been active and out in nature, try something new. Changing up our routines is incredible for our mental health and mood, and we often don’t realize that until we actually make those changes. I’ve been walking a lot while at home, and while this has become one of my new favorite exercises and ways to get outside, I didn’t realize how used to it I’d become until I actually got out of my home town and relaxed in a new place.

This beach day was the furthest I’ve traveled in the last three months, and while I would normally consider this a routine drive, this time really felt like a travel experience. Although it will probably be a while before I can post true travel content again, this is the closest I could get for now, and I’m okay with that. I’m hopeful that I can continue taking small trips here and there around New England in the coming months, and I think this will be good for me to realize that traveling doesn’t have to mean getting on a plane and leaving the country.

I know this week’s post was shorter, but I just wanted to share the highlight of my last week, which also happened to be a makeshift travel day. I hope this inspires you all to get out someday in the next week and find somewhere new to explore, or even somewhere you used to go all the time and haven’t been able to recently. I still encourage everyone to be safe and take the necessary health precautions, but I think fresh air and a change of scenery is also important for our health.

I hope to see you all next week, enjoy the nicer weather, and stay safe!

xx,

Megan

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Spring Break in Florida!

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Good afternoon and happy Monday 🙂

I’m finally home and back in the swing of things after my very long and much needed spring break! I flew in from West Palm last night, and I’m back at work bright and early this Morning getting things going. I had an amazing couple of trips over my break, between visiting family in Maine and spending lots of time in the Florida sun, so it’s only fair I get into all the good stuff with a new travel blog.

I’ve definitely missed writing about new travels since I returned from studying abroad, so I’m super excited to finally have some new content. In my post last Monday, I mentioned that I’d been spending some time somewhere warm. I flew into Florida on Monday and spent the week through Friday in Deerfield Beach. First of all, the weather throughout the week was beautiful, so it was the perfect week to just lie on the beach, read, and relax. While in Deerfield Beach I was alone, which I was a bit nervous about at first because while I loved my solo trip to Eastern Europe, by the end of it I was going crazy – but this week ended up to be the perfect amount of alone time! After the first day or two I got used to the fact that I was alone and actually really started to enjoy the quiet relaxation. I was able to cook for myself throughout the week which was great, and I caught up on so much work, rest, and TV shows!

I was about a mile and a half from the beach, which was perfect for my morning runs. I pretty much followed the same schedule every day, running to and from the beach before it got too hot, making myself breakfast and getting ready for the day, then heading back to the beach until late afternoon, when I’d head back and make a late lunch/early dinner and just hang out for the night. I definitely needed a low-key week to recharge after my busy week of exams before break, and I’m actually really glad I had this time to myself to do so.

Deerfield Beach, FL

By Friday, though, I was ready for some human interaction and a change of scenery, so this was the perfect time for my brother to join me. I headed back up to West Palm for the rest of the weekend where I ended up having to book an Airbnb last minute after I found out our hotel had a 21+ check in policy, but this actually turned out to be really nice. We had a great bedroom/bathroom set up with access to the backyard pool, grill, and fireplace, so I’m glad we ended up getting the privacy and comfort of a home rather than a hotel. 

While I waited for my brother’s flight to get in I hung out by the pool, caught up on some homework, and took in the last of the sun I’d see for the week. He eventually got in around dinner time, so we quickly got ready and headed to dinner at ER Bradley’s Saloon, right by the harbor side of the water. After making myself vegetables for almost every dinner so far that week, it was amazing to have someone cook for me, and I finally got to have my fish tacos that I’d been waiting for. The food here was SO delicious, especially the bourbon-soaked banana bread I had for dessert.

Friday in West Palm Beach, FL

Saturday was Kyle’s only full day in Palm Beach with me, and my last day overall, so we got an early start and hit the beach before it was even 9AM. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t so great (much cloudier and windier, and therefore colder :(), so we didn’t last very long, but we’re definitely beach people so we had to at least spend some time there. By 11 we’d had enough of the sand blowing everywhere, so we walked back over the bridge to the mainland and got brunch at a restaurant right next to where we ate dinner the night before – Avocado Grill. Once again, I got fish tacos – a vacation must! Afterwards we found a huge farmers’ market just a block over, so we walked around here a bit before finally heading back to the beach one more time. We spent some of the afternoon here, and then eventually had to accept that the weather wasn’t great and head back to our Airbnb.

Saturday in West Palm Beach, FL

Kyle spent the afternoon in the pool while I (again) got some more work done, then we ended off our vacation with one of the best meals I’ve had to date. We decided to splurge for our last dinner, so we made a reservation at the Breakers Palm Beach Resort’s Italian Restaurant. We got to the resort early enough so we had some time to walk around and take pictures, and the whole environment was so amazing, I’d definitely love to go back. This whole area was right on the ocean side, so despite the wind and clouds, the views were amazing. Once we actually sat down to eat, the food was amazing as well. Everything from the complementary rolls to our bruschetta appetizer, to my shaved cauliflower salad and Kyle’s meat lasagna, all the way to his cheesecake and my s’mores pie dessert, was beyond delicious. This was the perfect way to end off our vacation!

The Breakers Palm Beach

Kyle had a very early flight home Sunday morning, and I left later in the afternoon, but now we’re both back in Boston and I’m very glad to be settled and back into my routine. This past week was so amazing and I loved every minute of my trip, but as much as I love traveling, I love coming home and getting my life back together just as much.

I’m so excited for the rest of the spring and summer, as I do have a few more trips in the works, as well as the new direction in which I’m hoping to expand my blog. Thank you all for following along, and please subscribe below to continue receiving content! Any feedback is greatly appreciated, and I’ll see you all next week 🙂

xx,

Megan

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Current Favorites & Travel Essentials

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As promised, I’m back now with LOTS of new content now that I finally have some time to focus on my blog! As I transition into more lifestyle-centered posts in addition to my travel theme, I’m going to start off with a little bit of both in this post. I’ll be getting into my current favorites – everything I’m loving right now, from health products to books to social media – while also including some of my travel essentials – things I couldn’t live without on my trip this week!

First, I want to talk about what I’m reading right now. This is both a favorite and a travel essential – this is The Girls book series by Rachel Hollis. There are 3 books in this collection: Party Girl, Sweet Girl, and Smart Girl. I just finished Party Girl and am now starting Sweet Girl. I’m hoping to finish all three while on vacation this week, as they really are the perfect vacation books. I’ve already read Hollis’ other books, Girl, Stop Apologizing and Girl, Wash Your Face, which I highly recommend as well. These are all the kinds of books you can mindlessly read while relaxing (in my case on the beach!) and still get a lighthearted, feel good story.

Moving on from reading, I’ve also been catching up on my TV shows this week, and aside from my regulars like Grey’s Anatomy, This Is Us, and The Bachelor, I’ve started a couple of other new series as well. On my flight here, I started getting into Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez, a three-part Netflix documentary series. I’d always been interested in this case and finally had the time to get into the documentary, and there is so much more going on than I thought – definitely a good series to get into, but one that you need to pay attention to while watching. Another show I picked up this week that I can’t stop watching is Netflix’s original reality show, The Circle. This is another one I’ve been wanting to watch for a while and I’ve heard so many good things about it, and I’m so glad I finally started watching! This one is definitely more laid back and I don’t have to pay too close attention, but it’s still such an interesting concept for a show and I’m getting more and more into it each episode.

One more TV favorite is another Netflix documentary – Miss Americana. This is Taylor Swift’s documentary which I just recently watched, and I would hands down recommend this to anyone, even if you aren’t a fan. I’ve always been a pretty big Taylor Swift fan, but even watching this documentary completely changed my perspective on her success and the changes she’s made throughout her career. Once again, there’s so much more to her story than we see on the outside, so I definitely think documentary is worth a watch.

Moving on, a few things I couldn’t travel without (besides these books and shows) include:

  • My 40 oz. (extra large!) HydroFlask – I drink SO much water, so having this on a long flight was necessary. It’s also been great to have with me throughout the week so I don’t have to use plastic, and have enough water to get me through a long beach day.
  • I’ve never been one to care too much about germs (except for your normal hand washing/sanitary norms), but this week I am not taking ANY chances in an airport, so I stocked up on Clorox wipes and Purell, which definitely made me feel better on my flight down.
  • In general, I always end up feeling kind of gross after flying, so keeping a pack of facial wipes with me (any simple cleansing wipes – I like micellar water wipes!) helps A LOT after landing!
  • Having enough good content downloaded for any flight is a necessity. I know I mentioned all of these new shows and movies I’ve been watching, but I also love listening to Podcasts when I get sick of music. For this flight I downloaded an episode of Gals on the Go Podcast and The Skinny Confidential Him & Her Podcast – my two favorites!
  • Gum and snacks are always a must for me on planes, no matter how short the flight. On this trip, I brought a banana from home since it was early in the morning and I wasn’t too hungry yet, but usually I’ll buy a sandwich or some trail mix, and an iced coffee on shorter flights.

For now, that’s all I’m going to get into, but I’ll definitely be back soon with an update on my spring break trip (so far, doing great)! I’m very excited to expand more on my writing and get into more things I’m passionate about, so I hope you’re all on board 🙂 

Let me know if there’s anything specific you want to hear from me, and subscribe below to stay updated when I post new content! Have a great rest of your week, and I’ll see you soon.

xx,

Megan

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Weekend in Rome

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Welcome back! It’s definitely been a while, but I’ve been spending lots of time in Madrid recently and taking some time off from traveling every weekend. I spent Thanksgiving here last Thursday with my entire program, who put on an amazing dinner for us all. Even though I couldn’t be at home for the holiday, it was nice to spend it with so many special people in Spain.

The following day we had a very quick turnaround – early Friday morning we flew out to Rome! I’d only been to Italy for one dinner before back in September, so this was really exciting. We spent lots of time deciding which city we should visit, since there’s really so much to do in Italy, but Rome seemed like the best weekend option.

When we landed Friday morning, we first made our way to breakfast. We walked up the Spanish steps, and then found our way to a small cafe where we had spinach and mozzarella sandwiches. We had some time before checking into our apartment, so we walked around the area we were staying in, visiting the Pantheon as well. I studied Latin all four years of high school, so I spend LOTS of time studying Ancient Rome. Therefore, seeing all of these  sites and monuments in real life was so interesting for me.

After checking in that afternoon, we decided to spend the rest of the day in the Vatican City. Even just walking around outside in the city was so beautiful, and they were setting up Christmas decorations which made it even more special. Walking through the Sistine Chapel as well was amazing. This is definitely one of the most intricate and beautiful things I’ve seen so far, for every wall is lined with famous artwork and designing, and it all tells a story. I am so glad I was able to experience this place, and I would highly suggest a visit here at some point.

For dinner that night, we went to a very small, intimate restaurant which our renter recommended to us. I had spaghetti with a pepper and cheese sauce, and it was by far one of the best meals I’ve ever had. Italy definitely knows how to make pasta! We spent the rest of the night trying a couple different bars in the area as well, as Rome has a much more relaxed nightlife scene.

Saturday was our second and final full day in Rome, so we made sure to hit all of the rest of the city’s sites. We started at the Colosseum, which was probably my favorite part of the weekend. Not only had I studied this in SO much depth in high school, but the structure itself is so immense and breathtaking (it’s one of the seven wonders of the world!). By now we were all starving, so we found a local pizza shop and had a little picnic outside. I don’t know if it was the fact that we were in Italy, or just that I was so hungry, but this pizza was amazing!

After lunch we headed back toward the Colosseum to explore the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill. Everything we saw here was straight out of my high school Latin textbook, so I had another wave of excitement. There was so much history to see in the Forum, and all of it was preserved so incredibly. 

Once the sun began to set, we made our way to the Trevi Fountain to toss in some coins and make a wish. We shopped around this area for a bit, and then got ready for another pasta dinner. This time I got fettuccine with pesto, and this was definitely my favorite meal of the weekend! We explored another bar that night (Scholars’ Irish Pub), which was so much fun, and then went home before we had to catch our Sunday morning flight home. 

This weekend was for sure a quick one, but I’m so glad we were able to see such a beautiful city. The weather was great, and I was with so many close friends, so it turned out to be one of my favorite trips of abroad. Now that I only have a few weeks left, the traveling is starting to slow down while the school work is picking up (today is my last day of school before finals!). I have one more trip planned this upcoming weekend, and then after that my next flight will be back to Boston!

I hope you’ve all been enjoying my weekly updates, and I hope to keep this going in some form or another once I’m back in the States! Please subscribe below to be notified of new content, and I’ll see you all next week 🙂

xx,

Megan

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